B-52 receives first tech upgrade since 1961: Now with color screens and wireless networking

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The B-52 Stratofortress, which first entered service as a nuclear deterrent during the Cold War in 1952, has received its first ever technology overhaul. This overhaul, dubbed CONECT, brings the B-52H bomber kicking and screaming into the late 20th century, with a digital intercom system, color displays, a LAN for the plane’s various systems, and other bleeding-edge upgrades. Previously, the B-52H was a mishmash of digital and analog systems, with monochrome displays and targeting systems that had to be manually programmed from pen-and-paper coordinates. You’ll be glad to hear that, like the plane’s original load-out, all of the new systems have been radiation shielded for nuclear apocalypse warfare.

B-52 Stratofortress, with two D-21 drones under-wing. Because it can.

While the B-52 was originally conceived as a nuclear deterrent in the 1940s, and B-52s have certainly carried nuclear bombs, they have only ever dropped conventional munitions. The B-52 is most famous for its use during the Vietnam War, where its massive capacity of 32,000 kg (70,000 lbs) allowed for some pretty extensive carpet bombing. While the B-52B (active during Vietnam) was retired shortly after the war, the slightly newer B-52H was introduced in 1961 — and has remained in active duty ever since. Thanks to its low operating costs, and the USA’s savvy habit of choosing to go to war with countries that lack decent air defenses, the B-52H is still fantastically efficient at reducing whole cities to rubble more than 50 years after it was first introduced.

As you can imagine, stepping into a B-52H is a bit like going back in time, to an era when monochrome cathode ray tubes and relay-based computers were cutting edge. This isn’t to say that the B-52H hasn’t received a few piecemeal upgrades over the years, to keep it fighting fit, but it was still utterly antiquated compared to modern-day fifth-generation aircraft (the F-22 Raptor, F-35, etc.) The Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) project will see 30 B-52H aircraft upgraded over the next few years. The US Air Force received its first upgraded Stratofortress in April — and now it’s time to put all of those fancy new digital systems through their paces.

CONECT is an almost-complete overhaul to the B-52’s internal systems. The most notable changes are to the crew workstations, which now have a Multi-Functional Color Display (MFCD) instead of the original monochrome display, and massively improved networking capabilities both on-board between the workstations, and to ground stations via UHF or satellite link (satcom). Previously, the only way to integrate data from ground intelligence was via standard voice radio, which was written down on a paper pad and keyed into the aging targeting systems. Now, thanks to new software-defined radios such as the ARC-210, ground stations can beam new data/targeting coordinates straight to the B-52’s computers and weaponry. As the soldier says in the video above, this is a much faster and more efficient workflow. (Read: DARPA begins work on 100Gbps wireless tech with 120-mile range.)

It would seem the new CONECT workstations also include a trackball — and, amusingly enough, the narrator in the video seems to say that voice commands can now be used, too. Unless the US Air Force has worked out how to make voice controls work in noisy environments, though, I suspect the soldiers will stick to usual input methods.

B-52H, CONECT workstation upgrades. Notice the old, original monochrome display in the middle.

With CONECT, the B-52H could stay in active service until 2040, almost 90 years after it was first introduced, despite the (expected) long-overdue introduction of a new Long Range Strike Bomber in the 2020s. Beyond CONECT, some Stratofortresses are also slated to receive the 1760 Internal Weapons Bay Upgrade (IWBU), which will increase bomb capacity by 66%. Because the ability to carry 20 AGM SRAM nuclear missiles, or a dozen cruise missiles, just wasn’t enough. Oh, and did I mention that some B-52s have been modified to carry drones? (Pictured above). But hey, I guess the US Air Force has to try and keep up with the Navy’s roll-out of laser weapons, railguns, and plasma cannons.

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Dozerman

I fucking love these old planes. They come around my base pretty often, and work will all but stop on whatever project I’m on to watch them go screaming off into the distance, brown smoke spilling out. Hopefully, their next upgrade will be new engines; it reminds me of seeing an old classic car hobbling down the road all noisy and smoking.

Also, just for future reference, us airmen don’t take too kindly to being called “soilders”. :)

http://www.mrseb.co.uk/ Sebastian Anthony

They still move pretty quickly, with the old engines!

Yeah, I wasn’t sure about ‘soldiers’ either. I figured it was a pretty good generic term for someone who fights in wars.

We have a B-52 here in England, at our Imperial War Museum. It’s SO huge. Like, it sits in the middle of a hangar (built specifically for the B-52), and it has 15-20 smaller planes just dotted around it, under its wings, etc. Pretty awesome.

Dozerman

Yeah, it doesnn’t help that our uniforms look extremely similar to the Army’s, either. The only people who I’ve even actually seen get mad over being called by the wrong name are Marines, though… well, that and I heard a story about an SAS guy getting called a SEAL…

The C5 Galaxies are even bigger than the B52’s. They’re so massive that they don’t appear to be moving while they’re flying. They just look like a mountain floating in the sky.

Your headline says “wireless”, but the article says LAN. Never mind being “radiation shielded for nuclear apocalypse” a regular LAN is most likely going to need special shielding at the altitudes a B52 works at.

http://www.mrseb.co.uk/ Sebastian Anthony

It’s wired (in the plane) and wireless (to the ground and satellites).
I don’t think altitude will matter much at all. Cat 5E or 6 is probably fine.

I would guess the radiation hardening/shielding is mainly to protect against air-burst nukes, EMPs, and if it has to land during a nuclear apocalypse.

Jeff Vahrenkamp

To be fair, these aren’t functional because all our enemies since vietnam didn’t have very functional air defense systems. Iraq actually had a pretty decent and up to date AA systems at the start of desert storm. Its just by the time we bring in anything like this, the other more recent air and ground weapons have pulverized the initial air defense to the point where it’s no longer a problem. If our first strike in Iraq during desert storm was with B-52s, I don’t think it would have been nearly as successful.

http://www.mrseb.co.uk/ Sebastian Anthony

Yep, true. I guess it’s more accurate to say that the US has had air superiority for… well, a very long time.

(But also, I doubt the US would use B-52s against a country like the UK or France, with half-decent interceptors and stuff.)

dc

It would absolutely. The main function of the B-52 against “good” countries is as a delivery system for cruise missiles. It only has to get 2000 kilometers away then it can launch its payload.

Dozerman

^this. Between Air Force B2 spirits and naval Tomahawks, air defenses don’t really stand much of a chance. That was back then, though. Now, our enemies have vehicle-mounted radars that can be moved from place to place and hidden on a whim, as well as Russia’s systems that could hypothetically pick up stealth aircraft.

brenro

What would Slim Pickens make of this?

David chadderton

Oh great. That will be very useful. Not sure when or where it might be used though. However, I am fairly sure it will scare the pants off terrorists. Oh, hang on……where are they?

Harry_Wild

B52 been all round seemly forever! If they put new electronic equipment in the B52; they could widen the space probably by 30%! LED screens vs. CRT! Motherboard vs. transistors and maybe vacuum tubes. Modern computer vs. ?????.

Here are a couple, first the “chemical and biological weapons” is not correct, there were no biological weapons dispensed and the agent orange (a defoliant not a weapon at least not intentionally) was dispensed via low flying helos and other planes. Certainly not from 50K feet up. This screed is just that and revisiting of a very unpopular conflict from the view of left wingers.

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